mtl008 720 Consecutive fouls!
720 Consecutive fouls!
Popovich stood solemnly in front of the tactics board, rapidly gesturing with his pen as he explained the upcoming tactical arrangements to the players in detail.
After he finished making the arrangements, he summoned Jefferson, Parker, and Ginobili to his side, lowered his voice, and whispered to them with a serious expression.
His expression seemed to be deliberately conveying something.
The brief pause passed quickly, and the game resumed as the referee blew his whistle.
At this point, the Clippers sent Rasul Butler to inbound the ball.
Rasul Butler gripped the basketball tightly with both hands, his eyes scanning the situation on the court warily, trying to find the perfect opportunity to pass the ball to Su Hao.
However, the experienced Spurs were clearly prepared. They quickly deployed three players to surround Su Hao, blocking all possible passing routes like an impenetrable wall, making it impossible for Su Hao to receive the ball smoothly.
Faced with such a tight defensive formation, Su Hao did not panic.
With his keen insight, he had already figured out the Spurs' intentions.
Meanwhile, Rasul Butler on the sidelines was caught in a dilemma.
With the inbounds time limit fast approaching, an anxious Rasul Butler gritted his teeth, no longer hesitating, and slammed the basketball hard at a Spurs player standing nearby.
With a muffled thud, the basketball slammed solidly into Jefferson's leg, then rolled out of bounds like a runaway cannonball.
Since the ball hit a Spurs player before going out of bounds, possession remained with the Clippers.
What's even more surprising is that this unexpected incident not only successfully saved possession of the ball, but also wasted three precious seconds of offensive time! The originally aggressive Jefferson could only stand helplessly to the side, rubbing his leg where the ball had hit him, while complaining incessantly to the referee.
Seeing this, Yang Yi couldn't help but laugh and tease, "Wow, this serve was really thrilling!"
Although Su Hao ultimately failed to receive the ball, the Clippers maintained possession and cleverly stalled for the opponent's offensive time!
"Look at Jefferson on the court, he's furious and yelling at the referee! Just a moment ago, he was absolutely enraged!" Su Qun exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the court.
"Haha, you're right! That last shot was indeed quite dangerous. If we hadn't managed to get the ball in before time ran out, it would have been like handing the Spurs a perfect two-point attack!" Coach Zhang laughed and chimed in.
At this point, the Clippers began to inbound the ball again.
This time, the serve was given to David Lee.
To prevent a repeat of the earlier incident, the Spurs players acted swiftly, tightly surrounding Su Hao and giving him no chance to breathe.
On the other hand, they kept a close eye on the basketball in David Lee's hands and the possible passing routes, not daring to relax for even a moment.
David Lee looked around, trying to find a suitable opportunity to pass the ball to Su Hao.
Unfortunately, the opponent's defense was too tight, and there was no way to find any flaws or gaps.
Seeing the situation becoming increasingly tense, David Lee made a wise decision.
Without hesitation, he passed the ball to Curry, who was standing not far away.
After all, with Su Hao unable to receive the ball smoothly, Curry, as the team's second-leading scorer, naturally became another important option for the team.
However, just as Curry caught the basketball, he suddenly felt a powerful force coming from behind.
It turned out that Parker, who had been lurking behind him, seized the opportunity and rushed forward, grabbing Curry tightly in a hug.
In an instant, the referee blew his whistle.
Unfortunately, although the Spurs' defensive move was called a foul, their foul count had not yet reached the legal limit, so it wasn't enough for Curry to go to the free-throw line.
And just like that, another two precious seconds were wasted on the opportunity to commit a foul.
The Clippers continued to control possession of the ball.
David Lee took a deep breath and passed the basketball to Curry.
However, just as Curry received the ball and prepared to start his attack, Parker quickly closed in and reached out to interfere with Curry's movements.
Despite Curry's agility, Parker's defensive experience was simply too great, ultimately leading to Curry being fouled by Parker again.
At this moment, the audience erupted in uproar, expressing their indignation on Curry's behalf.
Fortunately, this foul did not add to the Spurs' team foul count, meaning they will not be in trouble with free throws for the time being.
However, the situation is not so optimistic for Parker, as he has accumulated five fouls.
The next time David Lee passed the ball to Curry, the player who stepped up to defend Curry was Argentine maestro Manu Ginobili.
Clearly, the Spurs had to resort to a rotation strategy to limit Curry's offensive output.
Just then, the referee's sharp whistle rang out throughout the entire stadium.
All eyes were on the referee, who decisively pointed to the free-throw line, indicating that Curry would have two free throw opportunities.
Watching everything unfold before him from the sidelines, Su Hao couldn't help but laugh and say to the three Spurs defenders in front of him, "Hey, your team really went through a lot today! But at least you got Curry to the free-throw line, so it's not a complete loss."
The three defenders looked at each other, a helpless, bitter smile on their faces.
Curry made the first free throw with ease.
Just as Curry raised the ball high, preparing to shoot his second free throw, Jefferson, standing on the side of the free throw line, jumped up in a panic.
"Hey buddy, I haven't even shot yet! You're in such a hurry to grab the rebound, does that mean... you can tell at a glance that I'm definitely not going to make the shot?" Curry joked.
At this moment, the referee quickly waved his hand to signal both teams to take their positions.
George Hill, who had been relatively calm, couldn't help but tense up after being suddenly jumped by Jefferson.
Meanwhile, the Spurs players on both sides of the basket stared wide-eyed at the basketball in Curry's hands, each one unable to contain their excitement, eager to leap over and fight for the rebound!
Under the intense gaze of everyone in the arena, Curry took a deep breath and then steadily threw the basketball in his hand towards the basket.